I stuck my tongue out at him. ‘I’m a size five.’
‘Hold on one moment.’ Darrelle hurried off.
I waited in bemusement until she returned brandishing a shoe box which she pushed into my hands. ‘I bought her shoes to wear with the dress, they’re a size five. She’ll have to ask someone else for a pair now.’
‘I can’t take these. They cost more than my sofa!’ I gawped at the label on the box.
‘Yes, you can.’ Darrelle pressed me on to a kitchen chair. ‘Can you take the bread and champagne through to the dining room?’ she asked Mr Cool. ‘Allow me.’ She took one of my feet in her hands.
I watched her silken head bent in concentration while she wrapped the straps of the crystal encrusted sandals around my ankles.
‘They look fantastic,’ she rocked back onto her heels to admire them. ‘You’re extremely similar to Arabella, you know. She’s curvy like you.’
‘Sorry the relationship didn’t work out for you.’
Darrelle dismissed my sentiment with a wave of her hand. ‘She was a demanding, petulant young woman. She has a lot of growing up to do. She wanted things from me but wasn’t prepared to give in return. It took me a while to acknowledge everything she wanted was materialistic; she’s not quite as well off as I am.’ She rose to her feet and gazed out of the window, across the snow illuminated by the fall of amber lights from inside the house. She put a cigarette to her lips and lit it, the flicker of the lighter dancing in reflection in the glass.
I joined her and squeezed her hand. ‘I don’t think she deserved you.’
Darrelle’s eyes were moist when she turned and leant against the window cill, smoke pluming from her pink lips. ‘I’ve a feeling we’re going to become great friends you and I, Saze.’
21:00
‘Have you seen the room me and Sam are gonna sleep in? It even has a sofa in it and a really big telly, its way better than my boring bedroom at home. I wish I could live here all the time!’ Daughter and Sam catapulted into the dining room just as Darrelle, Mr Cool and I had finished dessert.
Embarrassment flooded my face. I wished I could zip Daughter’s lips closed. ‘Why don’t you go back up there now? It’s late and you’ve had a long day. You can play in the snow tomorrow.’
‘We’re going to watch the telly and have a pillow fight!’ said Daughter excitedly.
‘No,’ I replied sternly. ‘You can watch television for an hour but no pillows.’
‘Told you.’ Sam smirked. ‘My mum hates pillow fights, she says pillow fights are for men who want to watch girls fighting. Or,’ she added with a curl of her lip. ‘For lesbians.’
‘That’s enough,’ I interrupted hastily. ‘Time to go upstairs.’
‘It’s fine,’ Darrelle said softly. ‘I’m not easily offended.’
‘God, Mum,’ grumbled Daughter. ‘You don’t have to be so moany.’
I gritted my teeth. ‘I’m not moaning. Don’t forget to brush your teeth.’
‘We will,’ Sam promised serenely. ‘Dad asked if you could call him ‘cos he wanted to tell you something.’
‘Was it urgent?’ I asked as the pair of them skipped from the dining room.
‘I dunno,’ yelled Sam.
Posted: 21:15 1 Sazement
SxyGrrl: A sleigh ride with proper horses? How fairy-tale! I’m jealous! Do you think you’re naturally suspicious? I reckon I am. My sister’s still here. She’s driving me up the wall fawning over G. His son is coming over tomorrow. She’ll flirt like crazy with him. I could do with a massage – that masseuse of yours sounds awesome, you’ll have to send me her details.
***
Black Curtain Falls.
21:25
I couldn’t reach Mr Nice on the phone but a text message came through while I was leaving him a voice message.
“U look really sexy.”
It wasn’t a number I recognised.
“I want to peel your dress off you.”
It couldn’t be for me. Some idiot had the wrong number.
21:33
OMG, the weirdo text-vert sent another message:
“Then I want your naked body in the snow.”
Replied telling text-vert to piss off, had wrong number and I was not interested in partaking in lewd texts with a stranger, thank you very much.
21:34
“How can U say that?”
I decided not to respond yet my phone beeped again.
“I see you in the big house.”
The hairs on the back of my neck stood up.
“I’ve been watching. I enjoyed the massage. I saw U drinking cocktails. U look sexy in that dress.”
I hurried back into the dining room on legs wobbling like trunks of rubber, fear souring my taste buds. I thrust the phone at Mr Cool and he looked at me in confusion. Darrelle rose curiously and joined Mr Cool in studying the messages.
‘There’s another message,’ said Mr Cool grimly as he handed me the mobile.
I gasped, the sender was outside and if I didn’t go out immediately, would come in.
‘I’ve had enough of this. Darrelle, fetch me a torch.’
‘I’ll come with you.’ Darrelle hurried after Mr Cool.
‘I can’t just sit here.’ Reluctantly, I followed them to the kitchen.
Mr Cool pulled me to him and pressed me against his firm chest. ‘Stay inside. Lock the door behind us.’
I watched helplessly as he and Darrelle pulled on thick coats and boots. Darrelle searched out a torch from the kitchen dresser drawer. I didn’t want to be left in the house but I knew I couldn’t leave Daughter and Sam. Mr Cool wrenched the door open, the chill of the night swirling around our ankles and its darkness stealing our sight.
‘We’ll knock on the door,’ he said. ‘There’s nothing to be afraid of out there.’ His face wore an unreadable expression and I hoped he was right as I locked the door behind them.
21:40
With sweaty hands I touched my phone to open a new message. The words jumped and danced menacingly before they fell into line.
“Why choose him? He cudn’t find a giant in a toy-town. Has walked past me twice lol.”
21:50
“Why don’t U come outside? We can play in the snow.”
22:00
Relief flooded me as I heard the knock on the door. It scraped across the cold kitchen floor as I wrenched it open.
‘What a nice smile just for me! As you didn’t want to come out to play, I thought I’d come to you.’
A hand reached into the room and grabbed a fistful of my hair. In a flash I was yanked outside. Blood curdling screams filled the air and for a moment I wondered who was making such a terrifying sound until my ears rang as the attacker cuffed me into silence. Clumsy with cold I fell onto my knees, crunching deeper into the limb-numbing snow. The attacker’s face lowered to mine, sparks of scorching hate bursting from his eyes.
‘Get up quietly,’ he snarled. ‘If you don’t, I’ll go inside and drag those girls out. Is that what you want?’
I shook my head mutely and attempted to stand in the high heels.
‘Take the fucking shoes off.’
Fingers tightened their grip on my hair and I bit back a sob.
I struggled to remove the sandals, my fingers immobilised by the cold. I’d removed one and unbuckled the other when another heavy smack was delivered to my head. Dazed, I rose to my feet and tried to ignore the biting frozen sensation which consumed me. I wanted to scream, to open my mouth and not stop but the thought of my daughter silenced me more effectively than fear. I no longer felt my toes by the time I was dragged to the far side of the building, where a pool of light from the first floor landing dimly illuminated the snowy ground.
‘Take the dress off.’
My teeth chattered in my head as I shook it.
‘Take the fucking dress off or I’ll cut the bastard thing from your body.’
The glint of a blade in a gloved hand forced me to obey. I peeled the
dress off and dropped it at my feet.
‘Get on your back.’
Tears streamed down my cheeks as I knelt in the snow. ‘Why are you doing this?’ I cried. ‘Are you going to kill me?’ A gust of icy wind whipped the words free.
‘I’d ruin the surprise if I told you.’
The smell of his aftershave clogged my nostrils as the soft, untouched pile of snow enveloped me. My neck remembered painful memories when rough leather weighed heavily on it. The warm mouth was frighteningly familiar as it moved across my frozen face. His clothes scratched my fragile nudity.
‘You’ll enjoy this.’ He smiled in an unfamiliar way. ‘I know you like to play games.’
I closed my eyes, wondering who would find my body first.
‘You’re not smiling,’ he said sullenly, increasing the pressure around my neck. ‘I want you to smile.’ The knife was cold between my lips. Its blade clunked against my teeth, panic widening my eyes. ‘Not yet,’ he laughed, removing the knife. ‘I’m not going to make you bleed yet.’
Realisation dawned. He was the murderer. ‘What about our daughter?’ I asked quietly. ‘Don’t you care what she thinks of you?’
The knife faltered across my neck. ‘Don’t twist things onto me. You always use her to get at me. I’ve had enough of it. Shut up or I’ll make sure you can never talk again.’ Heat rose to his cheeks, red blotches erupting like they always did whenever we’d had an argument.
Emboldened, I struggled against his weight. ‘Get off me!’ I screamed. ‘Help! I’m over here, help me!’
The gloved hand returned to my neck, clamping tight. Mr Him waved the knife in front of my eyes. ‘I was planning on fucking you.’ His eyes glittered black. ‘But I’d end up with dickrot ‘cos of your shag-fest. How about.’ He twisted the tip of the knife on the end of my nose. ‘I use this instead? Cut you up so no man will want you?’
In horror, I watched the blade lower. My thigh jerked involuntarily against the cold steel and my insides recoiled. An insurmountable quantity of thoughts swamped my mind: Daughter growing up without a mother, Darrelle or Mr Cool finding me too late, Mr Dry standing tall and silent in his mourning suit at my funeral, Daughter adjusting to life with her grandparents, my parents grief, not being able to feel the sunshine on my skin ever again. Had Mr Him been a murderer all the time we’d been together? Had he been living yet another secret life? How hadn’t I seen the evil behind his eyes?
‘Saze?’ a worried voice parted the waters of my fears.
Cautiously, I opened my eyes.
Darrelle peered back.
‘Where is he?’ I whispered.
‘Over there.’ Darrelle pointed at Mr Him’s motionless body strewn a short distance away on the snow. ‘I’m so glad you’re okay, when I saw you so still I thought you were dead! Come on, let’s get you inside.’ She wrapped her thick coat around my shaking, naked body, guiding me around Mr Him and the arc of blood seeping into the snow.
‘I hit him over the head.’ Mr Cool turned the corner of the building, his phone to his ear. ‘With the torch.’
‘Is he dead?’ I asked.
‘I hope not. I don’t want to be facing a manslaughter charge over that degenerate.’ Mr Cool attempted a small smile.
‘Thank you,’ I replied. ‘I was terrified. I thought he was going to kill me.’ My hands were colder than my thighs as I checked for wetness. Nothing, no blood. My knees buckled. He hadn’t cut me.
Mr Cool’s voice trembled agreement as he supported me. ‘And all before we’d even had a champagne hot-tub evening.’
‘I’m taking her inside,’ Darrelle told Mr Cool. ‘Have you called the police?’
‘Of course I have, I’m not an idiot. They’re on their way. I’ve been told to stay on the line in case he wakes up before they reach us.’
‘How are the cars going to get through all of this snow?’ I asked Darrelle as she half guided, half carried me to the safety of the kitchen.
‘I don’t know,’ she replied. ‘Try not to worry, you’re safe now.’
22:30
My body had thawed amid layers of borrowed clothing when Darrelle pressed a mug of brandy into my still trembling hands. A roaring overhead caused me to groan. ‘Not a helicopter. I don’t want my daughter seeing her father like this.’
‘If it’s a helicopter they’ll have to land in the paddock.’ Darrelle strode briskly to the door.
‘I’m coming with you.’
‘No.’ Darrelle ordered. ‘You’ll be safer here.’
‘Look what happened last time.’
Darrelle and I stood by the side of the house. I clutched her hand and watched the helicopter land. Mr Cool stood guard over Mr Him, who was by this time, conscious and half propped up in the snow on one elbow as he nursed his wounded head. It was like watching a surreal horror film. Police officers and paramedics ploughed through the snow in slow motion.
‘Ms Monnivan?’ a police officer asked. ‘Are you hurt? A paramedic will check you over. We’ll need to take a statement from you all but removing Andrew Parsons is our utmost concern.’
‘Will he be granted bail again?’ I folded my arms across my chest. Darrelle wound her arm around my waist and I was grateful for the support.
‘That will be up to the court to decide.’ He indicated for a paramedic to attend to me.
‘Mum!’ yelled Daughter from the kitchen doorway, Sam peering from around her shoulder. ‘Why’s there a helicopter outside? What’s going on?’
‘I’ll take them inside,’ Darrelle said. ‘I’ll bribe them with cookies.’
‘Don’t tell them,’ I whispered. ‘I don’t want them to find out Andrew is a maniac. Not yet, not like this.’
Darrelle nodded before she hurried inside.
‘Shall we step inside also?’ the paramedic asked. ‘Mr Parsons will be escorted to the hospital for his head injury.’
I moved slowly, not able to tear my eyes from the hunched figure of Mr Him as he was aided to his feet. His head drooped forward and I could imagine the pitiful look his face wore. He was unsteady and his knees buckled beneath him, another paramedic and an officer saved him from plopping face first into the snow. He peered back over his shoulder at me and I recognised the apologetic expression. Automatically, I began to raise a hand.
‘Saze,’ he shouted. ‘I’m sorry, I was just bloody angry with you over everything you’ve done to me!’
Part of my heart lifted for Daughter’s sake. He was, after all, her father and I hoped he could change.
‘Next time I’ll fucking well do it properly!’ Mr Him’s face twisted, contorting his features into pointy anger. ‘You owe me, Saze. You know you do, I made you. You’re nothing without me!’
I huddled in the warmth of Darrelle’s dressing gown and wiggled my toes by the kitchen fire. The chair was soft yet I felt frozen inside. ‘I don’t know how he knew I was here. I didn’t even know he’d been released.’ I couldn’t bring myself to meet Mr Cool’s worried eyes. I gasped as my mobile phone sprang into life, afraid to answer it.
Mr Cool snatched it up before I could move. ‘Hello?’ he barked. He spoke briefly. ‘It was your neighbour.’ He passed me the phone. ‘He wanted you to know Andrew had been released and was looking for you.’
‘He could’ve been watching me all this time and I didn’t know. If I hadn’t come here then he could’ve attacked me in my home. I would’ve been alone. No-one would’ve known and I could’ve died!’
Mr Cool dropped a kiss on the top of my head. ‘Don’t say that.’
‘I’m glad you whacked him over the head,’ I murmured into his chest.
‘I’m relieved I saved you,’ Mr Cool said with emotion. ‘Are you cold?’ He held me at arm’s length. ‘You know what you need?’
I shook my head.
‘A stint in the hot-tub with a glass of brandy, me and—’
‘Me?’ interrupted Darrelle questioningly.
‘Are the girls okay?’ I asked worriedly, cross with myself
for having momentarily forgotten them. ‘My daughter, I have to check her.’
‘They’re fine,’ Darrelle said reassuringly. ‘I gave them a plateful of cookies, some chocolate milkshake, and turned the television up ultra-loud. I told them something had happened to my neighbour and he needed to be rushed to hospital. I made it all sound terribly boring so they tuned out.’
‘Well?’ asked Mr Cool, a hint of a smile playing on his lips. ‘Hot-tub?’
‘Can I have brandy instead?’ I asked.
Mr Cool poured a generous measure of brandy and pulled his chair close, his thigh pressing against mine. ‘Darrelle?’ He held aloft the bottle. ‘Care to join us?’
Darrelle lifted an empty glass and offered it to him. ‘Do you even need to ask? So, that was your ex was it?’ she turned to me, slipping her bottom onto the table top, resting her toes on the edge of my chair. ‘What did he say?’
I consumed countless measures of brandy as I relayed Mr Him’s chilling words and actions, ending up with when Darrelle had found me in the snow. It all felt like a dream, a fractured image of a life that didn’t belong to me.
Posted: 23:30 5 Sazements
Ribtool: Stuff “Eastcove Local” here’s the exclusive! Andrew Parsons is the murderer. I can’t believe I’ve been following your blog and the clues were under our noses all of the time. Why didn’t you realise? My profiler says he fits the bill perfectly.
SxyGrrl: Hope you’re okay and Andrew goes to prison for this. Personally, I would’ve stamped on his nuts when he was zonked. We’re here for you if you need us. ((((Hugs))))
Orange Michelle: You’re such a strong person. If this had been me I’d have ended up a blabbering wreck. My husband’s fighting for custody of the kids and considering he earns buckets more than me, he’ll probably win. To make things worse, it’s snowing and he’s taken them out so I’m on my own.
JessyHope: Shit. I’ve changed my mind about contacting any men you know. Lucky I didn’t want to chase him, could’ve ended up dead.
Lies Love Tells (Eastcove Lies Book 1) Page 18
